Best Thanksgiving Recipes?

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^^ I'm a big fan of brining the turkey. It's too bad that my wife doesn't really care for Turkey or we would have it more than once a year.

 
I have completely abandoned the wet brine in favor of a 24 hour dry brine.  Every bird (chicken or otherwise) I've done with a dry brine has been absolutely perfect.  I spatchcock the bird, salt the **** out of the exterior, and sprinkle with baking powder.  I leave uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours, then remove the salt and baking powder.  Pat the bird dry, stuff butter (softened, seasoned) under the breasts and thighs, then bake.  It cooks faster, is the juiciest bird I've ever had (and I normally HATE white meat), and the skin comes out perfectly crispy (in part due to the baking powder).  

 
@Supe  Do you just wash the salt/baking powder off?  That sounds like a pretty good recipe.  Thumbs up to stuffing with butter to keep juicy!

 
Best recipe I know:

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Ramnares P.E. said:
@Supe  Do you just wash the salt/baking powder off?  That sounds like a pretty good recipe.  Thumbs up to stuffing with butter to keep juicy!
Click to expand...
Some people use like 2 TBPS of kosher salt and don't rinse it off.  I'm pretty sensitive to overly salty foods, so I either wipe it down with a damp cloth or do a quick rinse, and then immediately pat dry without issue.  The skin still seems leathery before it's cooked.  I like to lightly rub the skin with olive oil also which helps things brown even better.

 
we 95% of the time smoke ours with no real prep - I do put 2 sticks of butter in the bird, and then we do a heavy coating of butter / salt / pepper throughout the 12 hour cooking process- the smoking takes care of the rest of the flavor..

 
I've never made the turkey myself. My dad, however, slathers the bird in olive oil inside and out, stuffs it with oranges, and puts it on the Weber. When it's done, he takes the oranges out, cuts them, and squeezes some orange juice on the meat once it's been sliced. It's so good!

Does anyone have a go-to gravy recipe they like? I'm looking for a good one that produces a thicker (but not gloopy, and yes. that's a technical term) gravy that doesn't require all too much prep and isn't overly complicated, nor greasy. Haha, hopefully that's not too picky?

 
I have never used the electric one, I gave up on charcoal smokers and got the propane one- you just have to be patient with the big birds, even on the propane smoker its still a 10 hour + deal to get them right - Usually I will put them on around midnight and tend them through the night so I can aim to be done around 10 AM if we are looking to eat around noon to give me some extra time...

I like the propane smoker because it does ribs to an excellent level in right at / under 4 hours and I just have to make sure I don't run out of water and that's about all the effort I have to do...

 
Granted I've only done the ribs so far, but the electric smoker seems to be great for the at-home type stuff.  Just plug it in, set the temp & time and let it do its thing.  It even has a remote control so you can set everything and see how much time is left and monitor the temperature on the temp probe without even getting off the couch.

 
I've done it before (I know, huge surprise).  On a turkey, you're OK.  On a chicken or smaller bird, you have to use smaller lemons or cut them down to less than half, otherwise the skin rips as it contracts.

 

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